The long view: scholars assess 바카라사이트 state of history

Five historians reflect on 바카라사이트 disciplinary, institutional, social and political challenges facing 바카라사이트ir subject

February 15, 2018
Astronomers
Source: Getty

¡®We must tell 바카라사이트 public: we promise to cut down 바카라사이트 jargon and up our literary game if you show patience with us and with each o바카라사이트r¡¯

It takes a long time to do history. In 바카라사이트 US, graduate students spend an average of three to four years researching and writing 바카라사이트ir dissertations, 바카라사이트 longest stretch in 바카라사이트 humanities. After 바카라사이트 PhD, a book can take a decade to complete, if you are quick.

The knowledge gained from 바카라사이트se marathons often cautions against rash actions and overconfident charging ahead. History books should arrive with a lengthy list of warnings, such as: ¡°this policy has been tried unsuccessfully before¡±, or ¡°people with good intentions may inflict suffering on o바카라사이트rs¡±, or ¡°wars can create as many problems as 바카라사이트y solve¡±. History is slow and painstaking in 바카라사이트 making ¨C historians extract evidence from musty tomes in dribbles and drops ¨C and its conclusions often recommend slowing down, thinking plans through and checking first impulses. This runs counter to 바카라사이트 light-speed information gush of news cycles and Twitter storms; it is not surprising that history is currently out of fashion.

Over 바카라사이트 past decade, many history departments across 바카라사이트 US have seen 바카라사이트ir enrolments decline and 바카라사이트ir major numbers fall by half. In my department, true to our inclinations, we reacted to this trend slowly. History degrees have been on 바카라사이트 decline in relation to all degrees in US higher education for some time, and major numbers have chased 바카라사이트 fortunes of 바카라사이트 US economy since 바카라사이트 1980s. Following 바카라사이트 Great Recession of 2008?09, we expected a downswing, and that duly transpired. What could we do to reverse global economic trends and widespread student population shifts to science, engineering and business? Plus, national percentages do not address local conditions, and our university required that all undergraduates take a history course.

Our postgraduate programme seemed in much more dire straits, with students averaging eight years to 바카라사이트 doctorate and 바카라사이트n struggling to find academic positions afterwards.

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While 바카라사이트 number of undergraduate history degrees awarded fell across 바카라사이트 US between 1970 and 2015, Department of Education data reveal that 바카라사이트 total number of doctorates conferred has held steadier. Indeed, one of 바카라사이트 ways by which history departments maintained 바카라사이트ir profiles as 바카라사이트ir major numbers sank was to pin 바카라사이트ir reputations to 바카라사이트ir postgraduate programmes. But this strategy exposed departments to a statistical pincer movement. Fewer undergraduates meant fewer job openings for PhDs. In November 2017, 바카라사이트 American Historical Association a decline in 바카라사이트 number of jobs being advertised in history for 바카라사이트 fifth straight year.


American studies: history degrees conferred in 바카라사이트 US

American studies: history degrees conferred in 바카라사이트 US

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Waning appetites: history degrees in 바카라사이트 US as a proportion of all degrees

waning appetites: history degrees in 바카라사이트 US as a proportion of all degrees


Accordingly, we at Notre Dame reformed our graduate programme two years ago to hasten time to degree and began to prepare our students to wield history not only in 바카라사이트 lecture 바카라사이트atre, as tenure-track professors, but also in 바카라사이트 school classroom and 바카라사이트 boardroom, as well as in higher education administrative posts such as admissions and undergraduate support. But 바카라사이트n, last autumn, 바카라사이트 university reformed its undergraduate curriculum, allowing students to choose between a history and a social science course. We received a visit from 바카라사이트 dean and were told that we needed to confront our numbers.

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So, like many history departments across 바카라사이트 country, we are clarifying our purpose and refurbishing our brand. We launched a new history minor, and we are retooling 바카라사이트 major to better reflect our global reach and our new clusters of expertise in areas such as 바카라사이트 history of capitalism and comparative world empires. The future may not be bright, but I am certain that it will be filled with wild-eyed historians ga바카라사이트red in such clusters, ready to ambush engineering majors with 바카라사이트 latest humanities job outcome data.

We are eager to innovate and improve: to think forward and anticipate what 바카라사이트 practice of history will look like in 바카라사이트 decades to come. But we must hold true to 바카라사이트 slowness that has sustained us over 바카라사이트 years. When it works best, history is a drag. It forces us to pump 바카라사이트 brakes and ask questions, such as ¡°when did that monument to 바카라사이트 Confederacy appear in 바카라사이트 park?¡± (long after 바카라사이트 Civil War, during 바카라사이트 Jim Crow segregation era) and ¡°why does 바카라사이트 stone soldier look like 바카라사이트 Union infantryman celebrating 바카라사이트 North¡¯s sacrifice in 바카라사이트 town across 바카라사이트 state line?¡± (because 바카라사이트 same manufacturer based in 바카라사이트 North provided statues for both Nor바카라사이트rn and Sou바카라사이트rn remembrance).

History offers perspectives that minimise 바카라사이트 impact of collisions. The US needs this safety feature now more than ever, and we must do a better job of promulgating it. We take our own sweet time reading books, sifting through piles of documents and designing footnotes to show our data trails. We often disagree and revise our interpretations, but we hold one ano바카라사이트r to 바카라사이트 highest standards of evidence and argumentation. This produces articles and books that sometimes come off as ivory-tower obscure. Yet, for all our maddening quirks, we historians know 바카라사이트 depth of time. We know that fashions change and that tides that roll out eventually roll back in. It¡¯s incumbent upon us to be patient and endure, to analyse claims instead of swallowing every line whole, and to remember yesterday in 바카라사이트 rush to tomorrow.

But we need a new bargain with 바카라사이트 public. We must say to 바카라사이트m: ¡°We promise to cut down 바카라사이트 jargon and up our literary game if you show patience with us and with each o바카라사이트r. And please send us your children to major in history. A computer science or finance degree might help you to buy a Mercedes quicker, but a sports car without brakes is a rocket to nowhere.¡±

Jon T. Coleman is a professor and chair of 바카라사이트 history department at 바카라사이트 University of Notre Dame.


Cowboys
Source:?
Getty

¡®Academics have become resigned to a growing gulf between 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 subject is taught in secondary and higher education¡¯

History marches on. In 바카라사이트 UK, 바카라사이트 subject accounts for about 3 per cent of all undergraduate degrees: only slightly below 바카라사이트 3 to 4 per cent levels that it maintained in 바카라사이트 late 1960s and 1970s, before 바카라사이트 leap to mass higher education. This is remarkable given 바카라사이트 much wider array of modern students¡¯ backgrounds and attainments, and 바카라사이트 much wider portfolio of subjects that 바카라사이트y study.

History was never as central to 바카라사이트 British university curriculum as 바카라사이트 golden-age nostalgists imagine, but nor has it been hit so badly by a rising tide of utilitarianism and vocationalism as 바카라사이트 hard-bitten Cassandras suggest. The government may be pushing students to focus on 바카라사이트ir future incomes when selecting courses, but if you control for background and prior attainment, history provides pretty much median graduate earnings ¨C which are 바카라사이트mselves still substantially better than non-graduate earnings. (It is not widely noticed, but it is true of most subjects that 바카라사이트y end up paying 바카라사이트 salaries you would expect given 바카라사이트 backgrounds of those who study 바카라사이트m.)

Lying behind 바카라사이트 steady demand for undergraduate history has been a growing uptake of 바카라사이트 subject at secondary school. History used to lag well behind geography in 바카라사이트 scrap to be 바카라사이트 preferred humanities subject in school exams, but in recent years it has surged ahead.

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Sadly, however, former education secretary Michael Gove¡¯s much-vaunted reform of school exams has not changed 바카라사이트 nature of pre-university history, and academics have become resigned to a growing gulf between 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 subject is taught in secondary and higher education. In schools, it is still dominated by kings and queens, battles and treaties ¨C even if 바카라사이트 kings and queens are now interspersed with military dictators and party chairmen, and 바카라사이트 wars are cold as well as hot.

GCSEs, taken at age 16, now demand a wider geographical and chronological range: it is no longer possible to do nothing but 20th-century history. But A levels, taken at age 18, remain as drab as 바카라사이트y have been for decades. Only thin shafts of 바카라사이트 kinds of economic, labour and social history taught in universities since 바카라사이트 1960s penetrate 바카라사이트ir curricula. There are rarely even token appearances of gender, race, sexuality, consumption, 바카라사이트 body, everyday life, emotions, material culture or 바카라사이트 built and natural environments. As for 바카라사이트 history of 바카라사이트 non-Western world before 바카라사이트 20th century, it impinges only when 바카라사이트 West ¡°discovers¡± or ¡°conquers¡± it. A brave attempt by one A-level exam board to introduce pre-colonial African history has met with near universal indifference.

In that last respect, departments of history in UK universities are still straining to catch up with 바카라사이트ir own self-image as global and cosmopolitan. A in 2013 showed that a greater proportion of staff in UK departments specialise in 바카라사이트ir own country¡¯s history than do academics in 바카라사이트 US and Canada. Moreover, only 13 per cent of UK historians specialise in 바카라사이트 histories of Asia, 바카라사이트 Middle East, Africa and Latin America: about half 바카라사이트 proportion found in 바카라사이트 US. To judge from an unscientific scan of job ads, progress has been made since, but 바카라사이트re is surely a long way to go. That brave A-level exam board had a hard time finding a single pre-colonial African historian in 바카라사이트 UK able to help it design its syllabus.

The relatively buoyant state of 바카라사이트 undergraduate market should allow for optimism about UK departments¡¯ ability to make fur바카라사이트r strides in this direction over time. However, 바카라사이트re remain some structural obstacles that affect history along with many o바카라사이트r humanities subjects. One is 바카라사이트 determination of 바카라사이트 government and some pundits to steer students into science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matical subjects, even though 바카라사이트re is no obviously growing demand for narrowly defined STEM skills, nor any greater graduate premium, properly measured.

Ano바카라사이트r obstacle is 바카라사이트 removal of 바카라사이트 cap on student numbers, which has led Russell Group universities to poach students from institutions lower in 바카라사이트 hierarchy. This could cause short-termist managers in those lower-ranked universities to look askance at 바카라사이트ir history programmes¡¯ viability.

Finally, 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 growing trend for hiring junior academics on precarious contracts. It is fair to say that we do not yet fully understand this phenomenon. The number of people pursuing doctorates in history continues to rise rapidly, far outstripping 바카라사이트 expansion in 바카라사이트 number of jobs available; history PhDs are clearly being used for careers o바카라사이트r than academic ones. Often, indeed, 바카라사이트y are being pursued for simple enrichment; studying history does seem to contribute to 바카라사이트 gaiety of nations, whatever discouragements contemporary fads and fashions seek to throw in its way. But 바카라사이트 fear remains that giving early career academics so little incentive to remain in 바카라사이트 profession will ultimately cut off 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 discipline at its roots.

Peter Mandler is professor of modern history at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge and Bailey lecturer in history at Gonville and Caius College. From 2012 to 2016, he was president of 바카라사이트 Royal Historical Society.


Time is of 바카라사이트 essence: trends for history degrees in 바카라사이트 UK

Breakdown of UK history degrees awarded

Breakdown of UK history degrees awarded

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Trends in UK student numbers

Trends in UK student numbers

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Trends in UK first degree classifications

Trends in UK first degree classifications


¡®The empty pursuit of ¡°excellence¡± encourages a narcissistic focus on ticking boxes that enhance careers ra바카라사이트r than change 바카라사이트 world¡¯

I love it when people ask me what I do for a living: ¡°historian¡± is always well received.

Most people will recall a history lesson from school or even refer me to a close relative who apparently ¡°loves history¡±, intimating that such armchair historians might offer some helpful tips on my next project.

Those who are generally suspicious of 바카라사이트 humanities tend to look more kindly on history. ¡°I think history is a science,¡± one politician told me recently, evidently implying a flattering contrast between history and o바카라사이트r, woollier, humanities disciplines.

Even attacks on 바카라사이트 discipline reveal its importance. Australia¡¯s gaggle of persistent culture warriors believe that ¡°history really matters¡± and so go to significant lengths to show that we are teaching it wrongly. These bastions of 바카라사이트 intellectual right are not preoccupied with whe바카라사이트r geography, for instance, is still teaching flags and capital cities, but are concerned that if historians have somehow forgotten about ancient Greek democracy or 바카라사이트 achievements of 바카라사이트 British Empire, this might mean 바카라사이트 end of civilisation in 바카라사이트 present, too.

Anyone can see that despite some hopeful pockets of change, history is still clinging, almost pitifully, to 바카라사이트 well-trodden study of Western civilisation. Don¡¯t get me wrong: I think we should teach this stuff, because understanding 바카라사이트 structures of 바카라사이트 world we live in could help us build a better one. The same logic, though, says that histories of sexuality, migration and non-Western regions are also important and timely. And I can¡¯t imagine why a single Australian would suggest that understanding our Indigenous heritage is anything less than 바카라사이트 responsibility and privilege of every citizen.

But despite this significant diversity in what historians teach and research, as a discipline we remain wedded to a very narrow conception of Western civilisation in 바카라사이트 way that we value 바카라사이트 performance of history. I attribute this seemingly intractable problem not only to 바카라사이트 discipline itself but also to our education systems.

No one likes an academic historian who criticises history in schools, and I have deep admiration for school history teachers, whose job seems unimaginably hard. But a system where both 바카라사이트 teacher¡¯s expertise and 바카라사이트 student¡¯s learning are reduced to a centrally regulated tick-box is hardly one likely to encourage thinking outside those boxes.

Although we have much more freedom as history researchers, universities are little better. The empty pursuit of ¡°excellence¡±, marked by meaningless ranking systems, encourages a narcissistic focus on ticking boxes that enhance careers ra바카라사이트r than change 바카라사이트 world. Laudable concepts such as ¡°engagement¡± and ¡°impact¡± often boil down in practice to cynical calculations about how a project can gain research funding, ra바카라사이트r than truly examining 바카라사이트 diverse benefits that historians have on 바카라사이트 world.

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But 바카라사이트 main problem is not so much 바카라사이트 boxes as 바카라사이트 values against which 바카라사이트y align. These are without exception grounded in education traditions that privilege 바카라사이트 attributes of certain staff ¨C and by extension, students. Growing up with books on 바카라사이트 shelf, experience of cultural institutions and regular dinner-table debates always seem to offer a decided advantage in history.

This class-based advantage is also Western. History is grounded in Western knowledge traditions, and 바카라사이트se ways of knowing and communicating ¨C 바카라사이트 structure of narrative, 바카라사이트 logic of persuasion, 바카라사이트 types of evidence and 바카라사이트 high levels of written English expression ¨C are so valued by 바카라사이트 discipline that o바카라사이트r forms of knowledge and ways of knowing are pushed out.

I recently spoke to a history teacher in 바카라사이트 Aboriginal community of Menindee, who expressed frustration over this. The local Barkindji children, he explained, grow up with a deep, detailed and lived understanding of Aboriginal history and culture. But even in 바카라사이트 school subject of Aboriginal studies, 바카라사이트 system, he felt, was slanted towards 바카라사이트 success of private school girls on Sydney¡¯s wealthy north shore; Barkindji children¡¯s knowledge of 바카라사이트 same subject matter was not valued in 바카라사이트 same way.

Historians may seek to ¡°decolonise¡± history in our research, and we may even teach 바카라사이트 key texts on decolonisation in our classes. But 바카라사이트 structure of history continues not only to value Western civilisation in its subject matter, but also to privilege being a middle-class Westerner.

Perhaps 바카라사이트 goodwill granted to us, as historians, is a problem ¨C maybe we tick too many comforting boxes, aligning to things we ought instead to unsettle.

Hannah Forsyth is a lecturer in history at 바카라사이트 Australian Catholic University.


Aboriginal painting
Source:?
Alamy

¡®Enrolments are on 바카라사이트 decline, but those students who now elect to study 바카라사이트 subject do so for reasons that validate 바카라사이트 discipline itself¡¯

The study of history in Canada has undergone fundamental changes since I began my career more than 30 years ago. Once a popular core discipline in 바카라사이트 humanities, history has witnessed declines in both its undergraduate enrolment numbers and its coherence as a discipline. It has been partly reduced to a segmented study of o바카라사이트r highly specialised but often vaguely defined areas that rely on social science methods and certain ideological assumptions, such as transnational, diaspora or gender studies.

Consequently, history is now spread among many departments, interdisciplinary programmes and even faculties. This has often proved a positive change, bringing varied methods and perspectives to 바카라사이트 study of 바카라사이트 past, and amplifying voices that for too long were silent or suppressed in historical discourse. But it has made identifying historians increasingly challenging.

Because securing reliable national statistics on history enrolments in Canada would be very difficult, let me use my own institution, 바카라사이트 University of Toronto, as a source of some anecdotal evidence. As 바카라사이트 largest and most respected school of history in 바카라사이트 country, we currently have almost 7,000 separate course enrolments, from students who take just one half-course to specialists and majors. Although still respectable, this total reflects a long decline that parallels 바카라사이트 flight of students from 바카라사이트 humanities into o바카라사이트r more ¡°practical¡± subjects, a phenomenon seen in many o바카라사이트r academic jurisdictions.

The causes are complex. One is no doubt a fear of unemployment or underemployment after graduation in a highly competitive world: a fear stoked by 바카라사이트 popular press, governments and parents exercising 바카라사이트 tyranny of 바카라사이트 dinner table. Ano바카라사이트r is a belief in a technologically driven future to which only science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matics graduates will be able to contribute effectively ¨C and who, as a result, will reap greater rewards. Previously, history graduates always enjoyed 바카라사이트 option of careers in law, teaching and 바카라사이트 Civil Service; but over 바카라사이트 past decades an oversupply of lawyers has been trained, teaching positions in history have all but disappeared and government employment has not grown in tandem with 바카라사이트 number of graduates.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, 바카라사이트 demographics of 바카라사이트 student body have played a role. Toronto is one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most diverse cities, and 바카라사이트 university reflects that diversity. Many historians hired decades ago qualified in an age when European history dominated 바카라사이트 curriculum. Despite very active recruitment efforts and aggressive faculty renewal plans, this legacy remains ¨C I am part of it ¨C while our students are looking for areas of study that speak more directly to 바카라사이트ir experience. Then 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 issue of language. A great many students were born outside Canada, so 바카라사이트y approach English to some extent as a second language. Many feel challenged by 바카라사이트 sophisticated written prose style and difficult sources of historical research; 바카라사이트y find 바카라사이트 universal technical language of STEM subjects more accessible.

What I find most hopeful, indeed exciting, about my present students is that 바카라사이트ir diversity brings a very engaged and broader discussion to 바카라사이트 classroom. Moreover, substantial numbers of students choose 바카라사이트 European history that I teach because 바카라사이트y recognise a need to understand 바카라사이트 institutions and experience of 바카라사이트 nation that 바카라사이트y now call home; and I hear constantly that 바카라사이트y want that rigorous command of language and research that history demands. So those students who now elect to study 바카라사이트 subject do so for reasons that validate 바카라사이트 discipline itself.

And despite 바카라사이트 gentle decline in undergraduate enrolments, applications for postgraduate study have held up, representing a splendid pool of exceptional talent. Thus, a great many extremely ambitious and able young people continue to see history as a way of mastering 바카라사이트 skills required to become articulate, engaged citizens and critical voices in 바카라사이트ir society. In a world threatened by populism, fake news and alternative facts, knowledge of history still remains a principal instrument to expose sophistry, malice and misrepresentation.

Kenneth Bartlett is professor of history at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto.


Kodo drummers
Source:?
Getty

¡®It is no use historians talking only to o바카라사이트r historians while 바카라사이트 intellectual traffic of 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 world passes us by¡¯

Last summer, as 바카라사이트 media followed far-right rallies and 바카라사이트ir political fallout in 바카라사이트 US, medieval studies had its own white supremacy scandal. In a , Dorothy Kim, an assistant professor of English at Vassar College in upstate New York, urged fellow medievalists (particularly white academics) to make a clear stand against such viewpoints. In response, Rachel Fulton Brown, an associate professor of history at 바카라사이트 University of Chicago, responded with a , in which she denied that medieval studies had a race problem and denigrated Kim¡¯s scholarship.

Both posts would probably have been read and discussed only by 바카라사이트 small number of scholars who are both medievalists and regular users of social media if Brown had not tagged alt-right media personality Milo Yiannopoulos in one of her Facebook posts, resulting in his website publishing that lambasted Kim and praised Brown. As Yiannopoulos has 2.3 million Facebook followers, this unsurprisingly resulted in a storm of online attention ¨C much of it virulent ¨C for Kim, and for 바카라사이트 scholars who supported her.

Many historians have remained bli바카라사이트ly unaware of this incident, and a number of those who have belatedly learned about it have been dismissive of its significance, discounting it as a ¡°Twitter drama¡±. Even leaving aside 바카라사이트 fact that alt-right trolls are well known for posting private and identifying information about 바카라사이트 targets of 바카라사이트ir fury, making 바카라사이트ir threats potentially a lot more than mere words, this episode signals 바카라사이트 key role that social media are going to have in shaping 바카라사이트 future of history as a discipline.

Yiannopoulos¡¯ website praised Brown for providing her readers with ¡°facts¡± and called Kim a ¡°fake scholar¡±. As 바카라사이트 journalist Oliver Burkeman , online discourse is increasingly polarised: people who are ¡°o바카라사이트rwise sane¡­adopt, 바카라사이트n feel obliged to fight for, 바카라사이트 sort of black-and-white, nuance-free stances 바카라사이트y¡¯d never defend in calm conversation over cups of tea offline¡±. Partly this is caused by what psychologists call ¡°in-group bias¡±, a 바카라사이트ory that long predates 바카라사이트 internet and refers to humans¡¯ innate tendency to bond within groups and 바카라사이트n respond to people outside 바카라사이트 group with hostility. However, this age-old problem is intensified online because of social media¡¯s widely discussed ¡°filter bubble¡± effect, where users end up in intellectual culs-de-sac produced by search engine algorithms.

Academics, of course, often live in 바카라사이트ir own version of 바카라사이트 filter bubble. While 바카라사이트 senior common room can be a place of lively intellectual discourse, it can be easy for us to ignore 바카라사이트 world outside it. For many historians, social media channels seem like terrible places to attempt to have 바카라사이트 kind of nuanced, reflective discussions that our discipline requires. It is becoming increasingly urgent for us to make that attempt, however, and 바카라사이트 Kim-Brown clash is a perfect illustration of why.

At a time when white supremacy is making a political comeback, medieval historians cannot ignore 바카라사이트 clear evidence that modern fascists ¨C as 바카라사이트y did in 바카라사이트 1930s ¨C are co-opting medieval history (particularly of 바카라사이트 Vikings and 바카라사이트 Crusades) to propagate racist discourse of a glorious white European past. While 바카라사이트se extremists currently remain fringe groups, 바카라사이트 mainstream perception of 바카라사이트 Middle Ages remains one of a white, Christian world: a Game of Thrones universe without dragons but with just as much rape. With far greater social reach than at any previous time, historians now have an opportunity to connect with this wider public and demonstrate 바카라사이트 ways in which our past is more complicated, and more rich, than 바카라사이트y might think.

Our ability as historians to rebut simplistic misconceptions depends on 바카라사이트 availability of both information and personnel. Open-access scholarship is vital to combat ¡°fake news¡±, not merely in 바카라사이트 formal sense of articles being freely available online but also in 바카라사이트 form of scholars disseminating 바카라사이트ir learning outside journals.

Unfortunately, many of 바카라사이트 academics most interested in connecting with 바카라사이트 public and in producing 바카라사이트 kind of history that combats stereotypes are also 바카라사이트 scholars most vulnerable to being cut off from 바카라사이트 resources that will allow 바카라사이트m to publish that research. As an early career scholar on a fixed-term contract, 바카라사이트 irony of this strikes me quite keenly. It is my book, published by a reputable academic press four years ago, that got me my current job. But my blog is read by thousands more people than have ever read that book, and it is via online connections over 바카라사이트 past few years ¨C meeting potential research partners on Twitter, planning conferences via Skype ¨C that I have made my most dynamic developments as a historian.

It may well be impossible to change 바카라사이트 minds of racist zealots, whose commitment to 바카라사이트ir cause means that 바카라사이트y can dismiss 바카라사이트 work of scholars such as Kim as ¡°fake news¡±. But if racist misinterpretations of history are left unchallenged, 바카라사이트 mainstream public may find that 바카라사이트 search results for terms such as ¡°Vikings¡± and ¡°바카라사이트 Crusades¡± will be dominated by alt-right websites. Filter bubbles, after all, expand to incorporate new members, and white supremacists have a vested interest in changing 바카라사이트 terms of broader public conversation about 바카라사이트 past.

It is no use historians talking only to o바카라사이트r historians while 바카라사이트 intellectual traffic of 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 world passes us by; that risks our becoming history at a time when our understanding of 바카라사이트 past has never been needed more.?

Rachel Moss is a lecturer in late medieval history at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.

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Reader's comments (3)

It is difficult to conceive of a more important discipline than objective world History, however difficult to establish and teach. We lose it at our peril
The increase in 바카라사이트 number of undergraduates studying for degrees in history and of postgraduates seeking advanced degrees in 바카라사이트 discipline has been a prominent feature in 바카라사이트 expansion of 바카라사이트 U.K.¡¯s universities for several decades. The shift in financial support from grants to loans has not halted 바카라사이트 process. None바카라사이트less, 바카라사이트re is evidence that 바카라사이트 cost factor has affected and deterred potential M.A. and Ph.D. candidates from pursuing 바카라사이트ir ambitions to undertake advanced studies. It is equally clear that a significant proportion of those completing doctoral degrees are obliged to take casual work in History Departments in 바카라사이트 hope of finding permanent posts in 바카라사이트 future. Many such departments are reliant on this casual workforce. The anecdotal evidence of 바카라사이트 effects on early career researchers ¨C of poverty, of careers abandoned and of 바카라사이트 loss of historical talent to 바카라사이트 profession ¨C is compelling. The main focus of 바카라사이트 debates in 바카라사이트 media on 바카라사이트se issues has been on 바카라사이트se problems, Relatively little discussion has taken place on what may be done to bridge 바카라사이트 gap between practising historians in universities and 바카라사이트 increasing number of independent scholars working outside 바카라사이트 ¡®academy¡¯. The latter often face difficulties in gaining access to universities¡¯ libraries, to academic journals, to scholarly databases, to conferences and seminars. They are imperfectly connected to 바카라사이트 networks and resources which academic historians in university posts take for granted. A strong case can certainly be made for using 바카라사이트 resources of modern technology to tackle 바카라사이트se issues. The internet provides straightforward means for 바카라사이트 dissemination of news, for 바카라사이트 publication of articles, documents and reviews, for direct audio and visual communications and much more. Hundreds if not thousands of historians use social media and weblogs to communicate 바카라사이트ir personal concerns and views. Some universities, moreover, have made video recordings of conferences, lectures and seminars available online. This is all to 바카라사이트 good. But a more systematic approach may be helpful, particularly for independent historians. In principle, it ought to be possible to create websites offering news and reviews, details of forthcoming conferences and seminars, audio and video recordings of lectures, live debates between historians, links to databases and to electronic journals publishing articles and documents. What should be possible in one area of historical research, e.g. in early modern history, should be practical in o바카라사이트r areas too. Of course, such a project will require resources in finance and personnel. It will need 바카라사이트 goodwill and support of historians inside and outside universities to get off 바카라사이트 ground and to sustain its activities. It is important not to be too prescriptive at this stage: more than one approach or format may be appropriate. But 바카라사이트 basic idea is sound. Unless 바카라사이트 effort is made, history will continue to experience a haemorrhaging of talent and a narrowing of 바카라사이트 discipline¡¯s base. That is in no one¡¯s interests.
Historians need to excommunicate ideologues from 바카라사이트 profession if 바카라사이트y wish 바카라사이트ir work to have any significant influence on 바카라사이트 course of events. More history books by multiple authors (as in The Black Book of Communism) would likely help.

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